Chapter 33

At that moment, the attendant returned with their purchase and identity tokens. Ling Qingxiao calmly collected the items and gave Luo Han a look, it was time to go.
Well, Luo Han had no interest in dragging things out either. So the rightful owners of the Orchids left, utterly expressionless.
As they stepped out of the pavilion, they caught what sounded like an argument inside.
“What do you even need a Crane Orchid for? Since you’re so concerned about her, why bother wasting time with me? Go back and keep your cousin company.”
“You’re being unreasonable,” came Ling Zhongyu’s voice, clearly frustrated. “She’s my cousin—like a sister to me. She’s injured. How could I ignore that?”
“Injured? Fine. I wouldn’t dare delay the great young master. Go ahead. Go take care of your cousin.”
Luo Han clicked her tongue and stepped across the threshold. A formation had already sealed off the shop, and the voices faded into silence.
Once they were out of earshot, Luo Han tugged at Ling Qingxiao’s sleeve and whispered, “Do you think that the Crane Orchid they mentioned is real?”
Ling Qingxiao didn’t think so, but he was never one to speculate without evidence. “It’s possible. I don’t know what the situation is with Ye Zinan. It may have originated from his side.”
“Fair.” Luo Han pulled out a message talisman and sent off a quick inquiry. “Well, we’ll find out soon enough.”
Zhongshan and Yunzhou were quite far apart, so the reply would take a little while. The sun was already sliding toward the horizon; once it dipped fully, the auction would begin.
With nothing to do in the meantime, and at Luo Han’s very strong insistence, Ling Qingxiao accompanied her to eat. When dusk finally settled over the city, the two stood up and made their way to the auction house.
As they walked through the evening streets, heading toward the venue, they spotted a familiar face among the flow of people.
It looked like Ling Zhongyu and Yun Menghan really had fallen out—Yun Menghan was nowhere to be seen. Ling Zhongyu strode alone through the crowd, face dark. The moment he spotted them, he marched over.
Luo Han’s instincts immediately flared. Incoming trouble.
Sure enough, Ling Zhongyu didn’t even bother with pleasantries. “The Orchid—I will have it. I never fail to get what I want. I let you off once in the Biyun Secret Realm. That was my bottom line. This time, I will not be so kind. I advise you not to test my patience.”
Luo Han was momentarily speechless. What kind of second-rate tyrannical prince line is that?
She winced inwardly at the cringe, then scoffed aloud. “Let’s get something straight: the Crane Orchids from Biyun? We earned those through skill. You tried and failed, and now you’re claiming you let us have them? That’s shameless, even for you.”
Ling Zhongyu sneered coldly, throwing them one last glare. “You’ve been warned. Act wisely—don’t blame me for what happens next.”
And with that, he turned on his heel and strode off, boots clacking with all the dramatic force of an imperial drama exit.
Luo Han nearly laughed from sheer irritation. “I wasn’t even planning to cause trouble. But now? It’d be a waste not to mess with him.”
She had been on the fence about the authenticity of the orchid. She’d even thought about warning him. But now? Let him suffer. Let him feel the tender embrace of social reality.
While Luo Han fumed, Ling Qingxiao remained as composed as ever. He looked at her quietly and said, “Don’t waste energy on those who don’t matter. It’s time.”
Luo Han took a breath and nodded. The entrance to the auction hall loomed just ahead. There was still time to change into disguises—best not to delay.
Just as she took a step forward, a message talisman streaked through the air from the horizon. Luo Han recognized the red Vermilion Bird crest immediately and sighed, “That’s perfectly timed. One step later, and we’d have already gone inside.”
She reached for the talisman, but didn’t open it.
Ling Qingxiao raised an eyebrow. “You’re not going to read it?”
“No rush,” Luo Han said calmly. “Gotta savor the suspense. Let’s go inside first.”
For safety reasons, it was best to enter the auction in disguise—even voices had to be altered. But one couldn’t just walk the streets cloaked like a thief; that would only draw attention.
Luckily, auctions in Tianzhao City had refined their process. A special dark corridor had been constructed to allow guests to enter unseen.
Luo Han, unfamiliar with the process, stepped into the corridor and was instantly swallowed by pitch-black darkness. Startled, she instinctively reached out to feel for a wall or railing—only for her hand to be gently pressed down.
“No need.” His voice drifted through the dark, calm and unhurried. “I’m here.”
This corridor had clearly been reinforced with spells that blocked both sight and spiritual sense. It was like being deaf and blind at the same time. Luo Han should have been nervous, but the chill of Ling Qingxiao’s spiritual energy surrounded her like a shield. Just knowing he was nearby made her feel safe.
As long as Ling Qingxiao was here, nothing could go wrong.
Calming herself, Luo Han pulled on the black cloak as instructed, fastened the mask over her face, and securely hid her identity.
As soon as she finished, Ling Qingxiao’s voice came again, right on cue: “Let’s go.”
The two of them stepped forward. Auction corridors were designed for complete anonymity—entrances and exits were randomized. Once cloaked, even the attendants wouldn’t know who you were. When it was time to leave, they’d walk through another corridor, remove the disguise, and blend into the crowd without a trace.
They exited into a burst of light.
The auction hall was massive, with three tiers of seating. A grand platform stood at the center, surrounded by luxurious private boxes. The higher the level, the more extravagant the decoration. The topmost chandelier was crafted from pure sky crystal—brilliant and opulent. Outside, night had already fallen, but inside, it was bright as noon.
Well-dressed attendants moved gracefully through the corridors. Both male and female attendants were young and attractive. As soon as one of them noticed new guests arriving, they immediately stepped forward.
“Greetings, esteemed guests. Please present your entrance token.”
Ling Qingxiao took out his token. The attendant glanced at it, then immediately bowed respectfully and led them to the highest floor. “Please, this way.”
The auction’s entrance tokens were not registered under specific names, but the corresponding private rooms were fixed. Luo Han walked straight to the third floor, where all the VIP booths were located. The atmosphere and decor were entirely different from below—even the ambient spiritual energy was noticeably richer.
After they entered, the attendant handed them a beautifully crafted catalog and said respectfully, “This is the auction list and item descriptions. If you need anything, I will be just outside. Please call upon me at any time.”
With that, the attendant, well aware of how to handle distinguished guests, quickly exited.
Once he left, Luo Han let out a breath of relief.
Ling Qingxiao activated the room’s formation and checked with his divine sense before saying, “It’s safe now.”
“Mm.” Ling Qingxiao responded softly and picked up the registry, flipping through it at a leisurely pace. Meanwhile, Luo Han looked down from the upper floor. From this height, the auction stage on the first floor appeared grand and spacious. Rows of single chairs had been arranged below, open for general seating—first come, first served. However, these seats were fully exposed, lacking security and offering poor visibility. They corresponded to the cheapest tickets available.
In contrast, the private rooms on either side were far more comfortable. They provided an enclosed space that ensured privacy and a superior viewing angle. The higher the private box, the more expensive it was, with decorations becoming increasingly extravagant.
As Luo Han observed her surroundings, the seats below gradually filled up, and most of the private rooms on the other floors had attendants standing outside. If a servant was stationed at the door, it meant the room was already occupied.
Most of the guests had arrived—it seemed the auction was about to begin.
Recalling what had been said earlier, Luo Han turned and asked Ling Qingxiao, “Which item is the Crane Orchid?”
“The seventh.”
Luo Han nodded. “Are we certain it came from the Biyun Secret Realm?”
Ling Qingxiao waved his hand, manifesting the Crane Orchid’s entry from the registry into midair. A three-dimensional illusion of the orchid appeared, accompanied by a floating text description.
According to the registry, this Crane Orchid was indeed from the Biyun Secret Realm. The auction house had gone to great lengths to acquire it, purchasing it at a high price from an adventurer who had explored the secret realm. This time, the Biyun Secret Realm had manifested for a much shorter period than usual, and the resources it produced were extremely scarce. Many people had been waiting in anticipation for the Crane Orchid, only to return empty-handed—even the elite teams dispatched by major families had failed to obtain one.
With Crane Orchids becoming increasingly rare in the Biyun Secret Realm, their black-market price had skyrocketed overnight. The moment the auction house announced it had acquired one, countless cultivators embarked on long journeys to Tianzhao City, solely for this orchid.
The registry’s description spared no effort in emphasizing how rare the Crane Orchid had become and just how valuable this particular specimen was. Luo Han finished reading and fell into a long silence.
Even though she knew no one around could hear her, she instinctively lowered her voice and whispered to Ling Qingxiao, “I didn’t realize Crane Orchids were this hard to find.”
“Of course. If not for the orchid, why else would Ye Zinan, the crown prince of Zhuque Cloud Prefecture, have traveled across half of the Heavenly Realm just to visit the Biyun Secret Realm?” Ling Qingxiao said. He instantly guessed what she was thinking, cutting off her plans before she could even voice them. “No. It’s too dangerous. You have no idea how many people are keeping a close watch on these orchids. Every single one will be tracked. There’s no need to take risks over a few spirit stones. Just keep them for yourself. If you really want to sell, wait a few years—until the attention has completely died down.”
Luo Han nodded in agreement. She had already considered the risks and had no intention of selling them anyway. Aside from the one time they had run into Ling Zhongyu in the far north, no one had witnessed them gathering the other orchids. As long as the three of them kept quiet, no one would ever know she had so many.
As for the one found in the far north, they could simply say Ling Qingxiao had used it himself. When they gathered herbs, it had already been established that some would be used to heal Ling Qingxiao’s internal injuries. The fact that he had fallen into the abyss was widely known across the Heavenly Realm, making it entirely reasonable for him to use a Crane Orchid for treatment. Given Ling Qingxiao’s status and strength, there was likely no one reckless enough to interrogate him over it.
But if Luo Han secretly sold even one more orchid, and it sparked widespread attention, someone would inevitably trace its origins back to her. At that point, she wouldn’t be able to explain herself.
How could she justify knowing exactly where to find so many Crane Orchids?
It was unwise to underestimate the malice of human nature. If greed took root in someone’s heart, they might not stop at simple inquiries—they could resort to outright robbery or even use Soul Search.
Soul Search was an exceptionally vile and sinister technique. It directly invaded a person’s sea of consciousness, rifling through their memories as if flipping through the pages of a book. The mind was both the most vital and most fragile part of a person—once invaded, the victim would be left an empty husk, reduced to nothing more than a simpleton.
Luo Han feared death more than anything. She would never gamble with her own life.
Besides, though she was poor, she wasn’t particularly obsessed with spirit stones.
Spirit stones were akin to gold in the modern world—just another type of special mineral, except they contained condensed spiritual energy, making them the standard currency of the Immortal Realm.
But Luo Han was the Heavenly Dao. In her eyes, all things in existence were equal.
A mountain of spirit stones, a blade of grass by the river, a rabbit in the forest—they were all the same to her.
They were just energy. Spirit stones were merely one form of it. Energy existed in countless forms across the Six Realms, yet the total remained constant. What Luo Han saw was simply the conservation of energy.
That was why she felt no strong desire to hoard spirit stones. As long as she had enough to pay for food and lodging and sustain her life in the Immortal Realm, that was all that mattered.
At this thought, Luo Han let out a deep sigh.
For a Heavenly Dao, she was truly down on her luck.
Broke, silent, and forced to study.
She asked purely out of curiosity, “Can an auction house sell counterfeits?”
“In an auction, there are only those who can afford it and those who cannot. There’s no such thing as can or can’t.” Ling Qingxiao replied indifferently. “But generally, they don’t. Auction houses have appraisers and a strict verification process. If a buyer spends a fortune on something only to find out it’s fake, wouldn’t they come after the auction house? Even if the auction house has backing, they wouldn’t invite such trouble upon themselves.”
That meant the auction house either didn’t know whether this Crane Orchid was real or not, or they genuinely believed it was authentic. Luo Han nodded and asked, “If no one regulates them, doesn’t that mean they can sell anything?”
“Mm. Tianzhao City cracks down hard on human trafficking, so the auction houses here are considered clean. But in other cities, nothing is off the table.”
Luo Han understood immediately and asked in a hushed voice, “Like cauldrons?”
Ling Qingxiao froze. He had just mentioned human trafficking and realized it was inappropriate, deliberately skirting around the details. Yet Luo Han had bluntly exposed what he’d tried to avoid.
Ling Qingxiao’s expression darkened slightly as he looked at Luo Han with a rare seriousness. “How do you know about cauldrons?”
Luo Han hesitated, thinking that she might actually know more than Ling Qingxiao. She was still debating how to respond when the crystal lamps outside suddenly flickered and went out.
Startled, Luo Han instinctively turned to look.
In the darkness, all three floors were eerily silent. Then, a strong beam of light shone down from above, illuminating a masked man who had appeared out of nowhere on the stage. His half-open feathered mask concealed most of his face, adding to his enigmatic presence.
“Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed cultivators, honored guests from near and far, good evening. Welcome to the auction. I am your auctioneer for tonight, Qing Yu.”
The auctioneer’s voice was smooth and captivating, drawing everyone in as the atmosphere gradually heated up. Meanwhile, the ceiling lights flickered back on, not with the original crystal lamps, but with countless tiny, hazy luminous pearls. Scattered across the ceiling, walls, and corridors, they resembled stars in the night sky—vast and mysterious.
Luo Han couldn’t help but whisper to Ling Qingxiao, “The organizers are smart. Switching the lighting like this is both safer and more atmospheric, it’s a brilliant way to entice buyers.”
Her tone was casual, as if the earlier conversation had already been dismissed. Ling Qingxiao gave her a helpless look but, given the setting, chose to let it go.
Cauldrons? Was that something an eighteen-year-old should know about? And she had brought it up so naturally, without hesitation.
Ling Qingxiao remained silent, but inwardly, he was reviewing everything from the past few weeks. Luo Han had only entered the immortal realm recently, who had filled her head with these things?
After going over everyone she had been in contact with three times, he found no suspicious individuals. If no one had told her, then had she read about it somewhere?
Clearly, her coursework was still too light, she had too much time for idle reading.